THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; George Pal's New Film Adventure Into Outer Space, 'When Worlds Collide,' Opens at the Globe

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George Pal, the former puppet-film maker who has more recently qualified as a charter member of the Outer Space Explorers with his fanciful "Destination Moon," pops up with another graphic forecast of astronomical things-to-come in his latest picture for Paramount, simply titled "When Worlds Collide." Only this time the science soothsayer, whose forecasts have the virtue, at least, of being represented in provocative visual terms, offers rather cold comfort for those scholars who would string along with him. One of the worlds which he arranged to have collide is ours.The prospect, as Mr. Pal sees it (with a writing assist from Sydney Boehm), is that of a great star, name of Bellus, suddenly descending on the earth. So rapid, indeed, is its convergence that the scientists who have spotted it and charted its course have but a few months in which to make plans and prepare for the bump. Unfortunately, the best they can figure is to evacuate a few or earth's folks, via rocket ship, to a planet that is traveling in the orbit of the star.And so the greater part of this picture is devoted to a fanciful account of the present-day preparations to launch a sort of interplanetary ark, with particular attention given to the selection of the humans to be taken along. A port of embarkation is established and a huge rocket ship is built, with signs all over the place advising, "Waste anything but TIME." And then a handful of the healthiest and most handsome young people are picked to populate the new planet—a sort of super-Olympic team.In this intriguing preparation, Mr. Pal does permit some sentiment and a considerable amount of romance to have extravagant play. Richard Derr and Peter Hanson, who are rivals for the love of Barbara Rush, the daughter of the scientist arranging the trip, are naturally signed. Miss Rush and her papa, Larry Keating, are primary members of the crew. And several other dead-heads are permitted to go along. Most disturbing aspect here, however, is the obvious indifference that is shown both toward and on the part of the world's people that have to stay behind. Mr. Pal blithely neglects them to the utter obscurity of doom.After all preparations and a brief but horrendous display of terrestrial upheavals as the satellite planet brushes by—shown in "earth-shaking" Technicolor, which is the most lately advertised kind—the actual departure of the rocket and its arrival on a new and frozen world are largely anticlimactic. Except for a rustle of applause to salute a perfect pancake landing, the drowsy audience at the Globe, where the film opened yesterday, showed slight interest. It appeared skeptical and even bored. Mr. Pal barely gets us out there, but this time he doesn't bring us back.

A version of this review appears in print on February 7, 1952 of the National edition with the headline: THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; George Pal's New Film Adventure Into Outer Space, 'When Worlds Collide,' Opens at the Globe. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe